Raetsonwe Redundant and unnecessary.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The_Void I honestly can't believe that this film isn't more highly rated. Claude Chabrol could be described as something like a French Alfred Hitchcock, and while this film is only the second one of his that I've seen (the first being Le Boucher), I can already see that this guy is something special just on the strength of these two films. The film is a French and Canadian co-production, and takes place in Canada. The cast is made up of British and Canadian stars and the high quality performances bode well with the rest of the film; most of which is high quality also. The film is a murder mystery and begins when a young girl covered in blood is brought into a police station. After being questioned by Inspector Carella, it emerges that the young girl, Patricia, and her sister Muriel were attacked by a man who killed the sister and only just allowed Patricia to flee. However, as the investigation goes on, Patricia goes back to the station to give new evidence, which reveals a far more shocking identity to the murderer.The performances in this film are excellent. Donald Sutherland is subdued as usual, but he suits the role he's given here very well and I wouldn't hesitate to name his performance in Blood Relatives as one of his very best. The film also features supporting turns from British stars Donald Pleasance and David Hemmings who both give good turns; Pleasance in particular who shows just how great an actor he can be and highlights what a shame it is that he went on to waste himself in Halloween films. The unknown Aude Landry also gives a great performance in her role as Patricia. The movie is very mysterious for the first hour and really keeps the audience hooked. When Inspector Carella discovers Muriel's diary, the film turns into more of a drama in which the girl's last actions are shown; and while this section of the film is not as good as what went before it, it's still interesting and leads into a great twist at the end! Overall, Blood Relatives is a great film that really deserves to be better seen. Le Boucher is a better known effort from Chabrol, but for my money this is at least as good! Highly recommended viewing.

Coventry There are several great reasons to see "Blood Relatives"! First of all because Donald Sutherland is a magnificent actor and his project choices in the 70's practically all resulted in brilliant movies ("Klute", "Don't Look Now", "Day of the Locust", Invasion of the Body Snatchers"…), the supportive cast is also terrific, with Donald Pleasence and David Hemmings, and – most of all – controversial murder mysteries are always worth checking out, especially if they're directed by an acclaimed French filmmaker. "Blood Relatives" opens truly powerful and remains fascinating for almost a full hour. On a rainy Saturday night, a violent aggressor attacks two minor girls and one of them – the oldest one – doesn't survive. The girls turn out to be cousins and police inspector Carella (Sutherland) is charged with looking for the killer, starting with the usual line-up of notorious sex offenders and pedophiles. It's only with the discovery of the dead victim Muriel's personal diary that Carella realizes the culprit is very close to the family, as she hid a relationship with her first-degree cousin Andrew and an affair with her employer. The first half of "Blood Relatives" is great with a close follow-up of the police investigation and a specifically well-scripted red herring involving the respectable Donald Pleasence playing a repulsive monster. The story has you guessing along with Sutherland's character and you try to focus on every possible sub theme and/or underlying message. Regretfully, and nearly impossible to comprehend, the film pretty much turns into a campy teen-horror story with the arrival of Muriel's diary. The remaining playtime is filled with flashbacks and narrated scenes from the diary, padded with an incredible amount of uninteresting info about typical teenage girl stuff and overly detailed footage of Muriel's private love-life. The identity of Muriel's killer suddenly seems secondary to her puppy loves and Sutherland only occasionally comes on screen when he turns over the pages in the diary. Bummer! How can a film that starts so promising end up so tacky, dull and immature?

Infofreak Donald Sutherland was one of the most interesting and intelligent actors of the 1970s with impressive roles in movie such as 'Klute', 'Steelyard Blues', 'The Day Of The Locust', 'Don't Look Now' and '1900'. But for some reason 'Blood Relatives' has disappeared into obscurity, despite being directed by acclaimed French New Wave figure Claude Chabrol, and featuring yet another fine Sutherland performance. Why this movie has been all but forgotten is difficult to explain. I really have no idea. But as I could EASILY list 100 other unfairly neglected movies off the top of my head it doesn't really surprise me. Anyway, this is a very well made mystery thriller which kept me fascinated throughout. Sutherland is great, the three young leads (who include Lisa Langlois later of trash classic 'Class Of 1984'!) are all very good, plus we get the wonderful David Hemmings ('Blowup'/'Barbarella'/'Profondo Rosso'), and a brilliant cameo from Donald Pleasence ('THX 1138'/'Halloween') as a creepy paedophile. 'Blood Relatives' is recommended to mystery buffs and Sutherland fans.

David Carbajales Claude Chabrol shooting a movie under the premises of a Marlowe's story. More American than French. Donald Sutherland claiming to be considered one of the best actors of the 70's. The movie begins with a very very frightened teenager girl going into a police station. She tells about a murder: her cousin. Sutherland, the inspector, try to solve the case by asking some usual suspects and, eventually, reading the personal diary of the dead girl where he finds the clue to get to know who's the killer. In the middle of the movie, the story turns to be more about the relationship between the murdered girl and his cousin: the brother of the accusing young girl. Finally, we can see a surprising end. Good movie just to watch once, not more. It's not strong enough because the script is not very solid. It deserves to be watched because of a Donald Sutherland in his best and a little character supported by Donald Pleasance, doing quite well.